UFC vet, recent Bellator signee Matthew Riddle announces retirement

Matthew Riddle, a longtime UFC fighter who recently signed with Bellator MMA, announced his retirement on Monday night.

Riddle (7-3 MMA, 0-0 BFC) was slated to fight Luis Melo (29-11 MMA, 0-0 BFC) next week at Bellator 100, a Sept. 20 event that features the opening round of a Season 9 welterweight tournament.

However, according to Riddle, he cracked a rib and has decided to call it quits due to financial reasons.

As he wrote on Twitter: I’m retiring from MMA today, I cracked my rib and I can’t fight sept 20th @BellatorMMA can’t give me a fight this year so I can’t afford it!”

Bellator officials haven’t formally announced the scratch or a replacement.

Riddle, 27, concludes his MMA career with only UFC fights on his resume. After competing on “The Ultimate Fighter 7,” he fought 12 times under the UFC banner. He won his final four fights with the organization, though two of them were overturned after Riddle, a medical marijuana user, failed post-fight drug tests due to marijuana metabolites.

UFC officials released him after his latest no-contest, which came against Che Mills at UFC on FUEL TV 7 in February.